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Missouri Ethics Law Struck Down
The Missouri Supreme Court struck down a 2010 ethics bill that banned the laundering of donations through campaign committees.
The court said the ethics legislation was added to an unrelated bill dealing with how statewide elected officials contract for purchasing and printing services. That’s unconstitutional, the judges ruled.
State Rep. Jason Kander said he is concerned that we will return to a system where really flawed laws allow candidates and parties to operate in the shadows and that in a busy election cycle, it’s not a good thing to have less transparency.
Kander also added that’s he filed another comprehensive ethics bill this year that included campaign donation limits. But the bill has not received a hearing or been referred to a committee for consideration.
Missouri remains the only state that allows lawmakers to accept both unlimited lobbyist gifts and unlimited campaign donations, he noted.
State Tax Commission Recommendation
Now is not the time to raise tax assessments on Missouri farmers, say proponents of resolutions in the legislature to repeal an agricultural land tax increase.
Under a policy set by the State Tax Commission in December, Missouri's most productive farm land will face a higher tax rate.
The legislature may disapprove this change within the first 60 calendar days of the legislative session, and agriculture advocates, including the Missouri Farm Bureau, are encouraging them to do so. Every two years, the state tax commission reviews agricultural land productivity values. Since 1995, these values, based on land quality grades from one to eight, have remained unchanged.
Two years ago, the Tax Commission tried to increase productivity values, but that reassessment effort was blocked by the legislature.
House Concurrent Resolution 8, which would repeal this assessment increase, is scheduled for a third reading today. Similar legislation in the Senate, known as Senate Concurrent Resolution 19, was the topic of a hearing by the Senate's rules committee Feb. 7.
Missouri Ethics Law Struck Down
The Missouri Supreme Court struck down a 2010 ethics bill that banned the laundering of donations through campaign committees.
The court said the ethics legislation was added to an unrelated bill dealing with how statewide elected officials contract for purchasing and printing services. That’s unconstitutional, the judges ruled.
State Rep. Jason Kander said he is concerned that we will return to a system where really flawed laws allow candidates and parties to operate in the shadows and that in a busy election cycle, it’s not a good thing to have less transparency.
Kander also added that’s he filed another comprehensive ethics bill this year that included campaign donation limits. But the bill has not received a hearing or been referred to a committee for consideration.
Missouri remains the only state that allows lawmakers to accept both unlimited lobbyist gifts and unlimited campaign donations, he noted.
State Tax Commission Recommendation
Now is not the time to raise tax assessments on Missouri farmers, say proponents of resolutions in the legislature to repeal an agricultural land tax increase.
Under a policy set by the State Tax Commission in December, Missouri's most productive farm land will face a higher tax rate.
The legislature may disapprove this change within the first 60 calendar days of the legislative session, and agriculture advocates, including the Missouri Farm Bureau, are encouraging them to do so. Every two years, the state tax commission reviews agricultural land productivity values. Since 1995, these values, based on land quality grades from one to eight, have remained unchanged.
Two years ago, the Tax Commission tried to increase productivity values, but that reassessment effort was blocked by the legislature.
House Concurrent Resolution 8, which would repeal this assessment increase, is scheduled for a third reading today. Similar legislation in the Senate, known as Senate Concurrent Resolution 19, was the topic of a hearing by the Senate's rules committee Feb. 7.
